


Happiness and Dragons

by ArgentSleeper



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Curses, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 11:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5784508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentSleeper/pseuds/ArgentSleeper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time there was a princess locked away in a tower and guarded by a fire-breathing dragon.  But although Princess Elena plays an important role in our tale, this is not a story about her.  That honour goes instead to the dragon who watched over her, who had hopes and dreams and a curse of his own.</p><p>That dragon’s name was Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happiness and Dragons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the5leggedCricket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the5leggedCricket/gifts).



> A huge thank you to my sounding board and cheerleader, Crickee, who put up with me lobbing ideas at her left and right and encouraged me to actually finish this thing. You are amazing and your face is amazing, so there.

 

 

Once upon a time, in a land of myth and a time of magic, there lived a princess named Elena.  Even when the princess was just a tiny baby, it was accepted throughout the kingdom that she was the most beautiful girl in the land.  Elena lit up the faces of all who saw her and her parents loved her more than all the gold in their vaults.

But not everyone was so enamoured by the little princess.  A group of faeries called the Sidhe despised the little girl, for they had been promised by their seers that one of their own would one day be crowned heir of the kingdom.  So they sent a sorceress named Grunhilda to kill the little girl.  However, upon seeing the child, Grunhilda could not bring herself to carry out the wicked deed.  So instead, she cursed the girl, stripping her of her beauty and grace, a curse only to be broken by true love’s kiss.

Elena’s parents were devastated when they discovered what had happened to their baby.  In an effort to protect her from further harm, they sent Elena away in the middle of the night and placed her in an ancient place called the Dark Tower, far away from any who might ever choose to hurt her again and guarded by a fierce dragon.  They never gave up hope, however, spreading the word that the princess may return one day, should her true love find her and bring her back to them.

But although Princess Elena plays an important role in our tale, this is not a story about her.  That honour goes instead to the dragon who watched over her, who had hopes and dreams and a curse of his own.

That dragon’s name was Merlin.

 

* * *

 

“My lady!  My name is Knight Valiant!  I have come to rescue you from the wicked dragon that keeps you captive.  That foul beast will not live much longer, and then you will be able to come away with me and be my doting bride and the mother of my children.”

Merlin hissed over the battlements, more out of habit than spite--though there was plenty of that as well.  He had to give the knight credit for not flinching as many of them did at the sight of him, a giant pure black beast of death, instead drawing his sword and pointing it menacingly up at him.  Merlin was unimpressed.  For one thing, the man was still on the ground.  For another, Merlin often used a sword to clean his teeth.  The flimsy thing could hardly hurt him.

“Well?  What’s this one like?”

Merlin withdrew his head and turned to face his princess.  Elena cocked her head and raised her eyebrows comically, but she looked no more interested in Merlin’s answer than if she had been asking about the weather.

“He looks a bit older than the usual lot.  Uglier too.  He wants kids, though, if that’s a bonus.”

“How lovely.”  Elena rolled her eyes.  “Am I to have any choice in the matter?”

“Probably not,” Merlin answered blandly.  “Is that a no, then?”

“I suppose it is.  Would you like to tell him or should I?”

Merlin smiled softly.  “Much as I hate to deprive you of the pleasure, I should probably keep up my image.  Don’t want word getting around your evil guardian has gone soft.”

Elena gave a snorting giggle, one of Merlin’s favourite sounds.  “Go then.  Have your fun.  Just try not to singe this one.  I don’t need you moping for a week, wondering if you hurt him.”

Merlin spread his wings, careful not to clip Elena, and launched himself from the top of the tower.  Now knight Valiant wavered, clearly surprised by the aerial attack, but he still stood his ground, bracing his sword and looking like he might choose to throw it like a spear.  Well, Merlin had experience against swords and spears alike.  When Knight Valiant did choose to lob the weapon at him, Merlin simply snatched it in his talons and flew it back up to the tower, dropping it beside Elena with a grin.  Then he swooped back down, maw open and pouring out flames (though he tried to heed Elena’s advice and held back a bit).  That was the last straw for the knight, and he raced off into the forest after his panicking horse.

Merlin landed back on top of the tower, folding in his wings and settling down for a rest.  Flying exhausted him.  He preferred to walk around the extra-large corridors built just perfect for a scrawny dragon like himself, and he preferred even more to just laze about on the ramparts.  But he’d do this whole thing thrice a day if Elena asked him to.

The object of his affection walked over and curled up into his side, giving his hide a soothing scratch.  “If you keep fetching me swords, soon I’m not going to have any place to sleep.  You don’t have to get me a present every time one of these idiots comes by.”

He shrugged, then wrapped his head around to rest it in Elena’s lap.  She abandoned scratching his side to take care of the itch behind Merlin’s ears.  “Sure I don’t.  But you can’t say you don’t appreciate them.  I’ve seen you practicing with the one I stole from King Cenred.”

“And I’ve seen _you_ using Odin’s as a toothpick, so don’t get all high and mighty with me, Master Dragon.”  Elena gave him a teasing slap.  “If you have to steal something from them, could it maybe be something a bit more useful?  Like some sweets?  Or a horse?”

Merlin could sense her sadness behind the cheerful voice, and his heart constricted for her.  His Elena had been here for nearly her entire life.  Merlin tried to steal what he could from their… _visitors_ and the occasional trip to a town, but there were so many wonders of the world she had yet to experience.  Merlin had fetched her several books on one of his raids, and they had only fuelled her curiosity, spinning fanciful tales of what life was like beyond the tower.

“One day I will find a horse who does not run away at the sight of me, and I will bring it home for you, I promise.”

Elena pressed a kiss on the soft skin between his eyes.  “Thank you, Merlin.”

They sat there for the rest of the afternoon, Elena bringing out one of her books and reading it to him.  Eventually she had to go inside and make herself food, though, and Merlin was left alone on the battlements.

He lifted his head to look out at the surrounding forest.  Merlin wished that one of the men who came through could finally be the one meant to take Elena from the tower.  But every single one had been a disappointment.  Cenred and Odin had been cruel. Oswald and Ethan had been cowards.  Gilli had been nothing but a bumbling fool, and the others had been nothing at all.  So still she waited.

It might have seemed a bit strange, even to someone who actually understood their arrangement, for Merlin to be so eager to find Elena her prince.  After all, once she left, he would be alone.  But the love between dragon and princess was such that he wanted only the best for his friend.  Or so he tried to tell himself.  No one had really come along yet to challenge his resolve on that front.

It had all started back when Merlin was just a young dragon himself.  At that time, his father, Balinor, had been their guardian.  Merlin never knew if it was just another part of his punishment for betraying his dragonkin or if he just took the job as an opportunity to hide his cursed son from the world.  Despite the rumours of the evil dragon who kept the princess trapped in her prison, Merlin and Elena had grown up together as the only friend the other had.

When they were old enough to care for themselves, Balinor left, cautioning Merlin that Elena must remain in the tower until her curse was broken.  Merlin, however, had immediately told Elena she was free to go at any time, even unlocking the door that had been barred to her all these years.  Elena had surprised him by insisting on staying.   _“I have nowhere else to go.  Besides, I could never abandon you like that_. _”_

Despite her words, Merlin knew their time together was limited.  One day Elena’s true love would come and break her curse, and she would have no choice but to leave him.  For Merlin’s curse could not be broken, and a dragon would never be welcome in the world of men.

 

* * *

 

 

Elena woke early, dressing and sneaking through the tower as quietly as she could.  Merlin always slept late in the morning, claiming he didn’t like to be awake when it was still so cold out, but he was a light sleeper, always ready to defend her should yet another man come calling.

He would be so sad if he knew what she was doing.  Elena knew Merlin loved her and would give her anything in the world, including her freedom, but she also saw the flash of worry every time a knight or lord appeared to take her away.  If he found out she wanted to go outside, it would break his heart.

So she kept her little excursions a secret, slipping out in the early morning light and returning before he awoke.  Elena never went far, just exploring the woods surrounding the tower.  She knew it was risky; if she was caught by one of the less than honourable suitors, they might steal her away before Merlin could rescue her.  One time it had nearly happened, but luckily Jarl had been too stupid to recognize the sound of her clumsy footsteps as a human instead of a deer.  Besides, there was always a decent gap in time between visitors.  She should be safe for now.

The outside world fascinated Elena.  There were so many plants and animals and colours.  She wondered why Merlin never ventured into it more often, only leaving the tower himself to fetch food or a trinket for her.  No matter how many times he told her she was free to go, he never expressed any interest in going himself.  Elena had made a silent promise long ago that if her true love should ever come to take her away, she would take Merlin with her.

A branch snapped in the distance, and Elena dove behind a tree.   _You’re being ridiculous.  It’s probably just a rabbit._  Rabbit or not, she stayed where she was as the cracking grew nearer.  And there… yes, it was definitely two _different_ crackers, traveling together.

Elena held her breath as the culprits came in view.  Then her eyes bulged and she gasped so loudly that the woman whipped her head towards the sound.

A _woman_.

Elena wasn’t stupid.  She may have never actually seen another female in person, but she knew one when she saw one.  The girl was smaller than she, with neat light brown locks where Elena’s was a tangled blonde mess (for all his love of gifts, Merlin never seemed to bring back a comb), but the same soft brown eyes.  She walked beside a beautiful brown horse.

Elena wondered what the girl was doing here.  No one frequented the forest unless they were searching for her.  The threat of the dragon was enough to keep anyone from frolicking about for a picnic.  The girl wasn’t carrying a sword, though Elena spotted a cross bow on her horse.  She wondered if the woman knew how to use it.  According to her books, women weren’t trained in the use of weapons like men were.

Was she lost?  She didn’t look frightened, though a bit confused.  Try as she might, Elena couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation for her presence.  The woman was still looking curiously in her direction, obviously trying to spot the source of the sound.

“Mithian!” a voice called in the near distance.  The woman turned to watch a young man emerge through the trees.

Elena raised her eyebrows.  Compared to the other men who had come to her tower, this one was actually quite attractive.  Together the two were a stunning pair.  The man didn’t look enough like his companion to be the woman’s brother.  Her husband, perhaps?  That would be a first.  Her suitors sometimes came in pairs, but they never brought a party along with them.

“Mithian, we’re supposed to be staying together,” the man scowled.  “The last thing we need is for one of us to get lost.”

“We’re already lost, Arthur,” Mithian pointed out with a crooked smile.  “It’s quite difficult to know where you are when you don’t know where you’re going.”

“You sound like that damn faery, talking in riddles,” he snapped, brushing past her.  The woman followed placidly, Elena sneaking quietly behind.  “We have to be getting close!  We’ve been wandering around here for days.”

“Other people have found it.  It has been around here somewhere.”

“Or all those other people were lying and a dragon just makes a good story to tell over a pint. The whole thing is probably a myth, made up to cover for Lady Godwin’s infertility.”

The woman halted in her tracks.  “That’s a cruel thing to say, Arthur.  These people lost their _child_.”

“Sorry, Mith,” he said softly.  “You know I didn’t mean it.  It’s just… it feels like we’re not getting anywhere!  It’s like we’re chasing ghost stories.”

“Gaius swears it’s true.  He’s almost always right about these sorts of things.  We just have to keep trying.”

“I can’t come back empty-handed, Mithian.  I can’t let my father down.  If I’m not the one to slay this dragon, he’ll probably stick _me_ in a tower.”

Elena nearly let out another gasp.  They couldn’t kill Merlin!  He’d never hurt anyone.  He frightened them, and sure he had accidentally set Gilli’s cloak on fire, but other than that he was the gentlest soul in the world.  She took heart in Merlin’s assurances that human weapons and most magic were useless against his hide.  A determined hunter might find a way, though, and Elena could not let that happen.

No matter how kind the woman’s eyes were.

As if summoned by the conversation, Elena suddenly heard the thwomp of Merlin’s wings flapping through the air.   _Oh no_.  She didn’t think he had noticed yet that she was gone; he would have been screeching for the whole forest to hear if he was worried about her.  But if he looked down and saw her outside, particularly in the presence of other people… Much as Elena wanted to protect Merlin from them, she also knew she had to protect them from Merlin.

“Arthur, look!”

“The dragon!  So it is true!”

“Do you think it’s heading towards the tower or away?”

“We’d better hope away.  It came from over there.  Let’s go.”

As quietly as she could, Elena backed away from Arthur and Mithian and then took off through the trees.  Luckily she knew this forest far better than they did, and her home soon came into view.  She fled through the door and locked it tightly behind her.  Merlin had promised it was concealed from the outside with magic, but Elena was taking no risks.  She ran to the battlements and peeked over the side, waiting with bated breath for the two to arrive.

When they finally did, she watched as they circled the tower, searching for a way inside.  Elena made sure to keep herself far enough back that when they occasionally looked up to check the skies for Merlin they didn’t spot her.

“What are we supposed to do, scale the thing?”  Arthur’s frustrated cries carried easily to Elena’s perch.

“I’m not sure we have time for that,” Mithian pointed out.  “There’s no telling how long it will be until the dragon returns.  It might be best to make camp and create a plan while we wait for it to leave again.”

“Fine,” he grumbled.  “At least we know where the damn thing is now.”

It didn’t take long for Merlin to come home.  He landed on the battlements where Elena still waited for him, pretending to read her book from yesterday.  She dropped it and gasped when she saw what he held gently in his talons.

“A _unicorn?_  Oh, Merlin!  Where did you find it?”

The unicorn was beautiful.  Pure white with a long white horn.  Unlike the skittish horses of her suitors, the unicorn didn’t seem the least bit bothered about her proximity to a dragon.  Instead she stood there placidly where Merlin had set her and watched Elena draw near.

“I stopped at the lake for a drink, and there she was.  I told you I would bring you a horse.  She can keep you company.”

“You keep me company, silly.”  Neither of them were mentioning that it would be impossible to ride a horse in the tower.  Maybe this would be a gentle way to mention to Merlin about wanting to go outside.  He wouldn’t think she was abandoning him if she was doing it for the unicorn’s sake.

“How long have you been up?  I was going to let you know I was going hunting, but you didn’t answer.”  Merlin cocked his head.  “It’s not like you to sleep in later than me.  Is something wrong?”

Elena hid her face against the unicorn’s neck.  “I was up late practicing with my new sword.”

“Want to show me your moves after lunch?”

She nodded, then fled to fetch food, the unicorn following behind her of her own free will.  Elena hated lying to Merlin.  He had been so kind to her when he could have kept her locked away in one of the rooms or abandoned her to die.  He was supposed to be her prison guard, after all, not her friend.  He brought her presents and always asked before he chased away her suitors.  He was going to be thrilled for her when she was finally free of her curse, no matter what it meant for him.  Yet here she was, hiding her actions from him.

The unicorn nudged her in the side.  Elena startled, having nearly forgotten she was there.  “Oh, hello there.  So you like Merlin too, do you?  He’s a nice bloke, for a dragon.  Not that I’ve met other dragons.  But you know, from the stories of dragons he seems nicer than that.”  The unicorn snorted, clearly unimpressed with her babble.  “I’d like to say I’m more graceful with my body than my mouth, but I’m afraid not.  You’ll have to be gentle with me if I ever start riding you.  I’ll probably fall flat on my face.”

Elena made sure to grab some of the cured beef hearts out of the pantry to bring up as an apology, even if Merlin wouldn’t know why she needed to apologize.  She chose a bit of jerky and some fruit for herself.  Lying tended to put her off her appetite.

The unicorn snorted again as she made to leave.  “Sorry.  You probably want something to eat too, don’t you?”  Elena grabbed a few sweet potatoes and added them to her plate.  “You’ll have to yell at Merlin if you want anything else to eat.  It’s hard for him to get anything not meat, though.  Claws aren’t really made for foraging.  Mostly he gets things by stealing them from villagers, and he hates doing that.  Extra clothes from rich ladies is one thing, but taking meals from hungry mouths is another.”  The unicorn pawed at the ground, and Elena took this for agreement.  “I should probably give you a name, shouldn’t I?  What would you like to be called?”

“She likes to be called Ceffyl.”

Elena whirled around.  An elderly robed man with a tall staff stood in the doorway.  Elena stumbled backward, putting the unicorn between her and the intruder.  “Who are you?  How did you get in here?  I’ll have you know there’s a dragon upstairs, and the second I scream he’ll come down here and tear you apart.”

“Yes, though not for the reasons one would expect, would they?”  The man seemed utterly calm in the face of her threat.

“What do you mean?”  Had someone found out Merlin wasn’t as terrifying as he was meant to be?  But how could anyone know that?

“Your dragon brought you Ceffyl.  A unicorn will not approach just anyone.  Only those pure at heart may ever hope to see one.”

“Merlin is the purest there is!”  Elena promised.  “But you didn’t answer my question.  Who are you?”

“I am Anhora, keeper of the unicorns.  Do not fear.  I have come to reward your dear Merlin.  For when confronted with the temptation, he chose to see Ceffyl as a gift rather than destroy her as is his base instinct.”

“Reward?  Reward how?”

“You will see soon enough.  And take heart, my lady.  Your own reward is nearer than you think.”

Elena blinked, and the man vanished.  For a long moment she just stared at the spot where he had been.  It was magic, it had to be.  But was his magic good or bad?  Ceffyl nickered gently to draw her attention back to the present. Elena gasped and nearly dropped the plate she had somehow held onto before.  Merlin!

She ran up the stairs to the battlements, terrified of what she might find.  Merlin raised a scaly eyebrow at her as she burst through the door.  There didn’t _seem_ to be anything wrong with him.  But it was possible it would happen a few minutes from now, or an hour, or a couple days.  Elena would simply have to be vigilant for any sign of danger.

“Everything okay, Ellie?” Merlin asked, stretching his head forward and sniffing her in concern.  “You look a bit pale.”

“Fine.  I mean I’m fine.  Everything’s fine.”  Not the most convincing speech she’d ever given, but she was under rather a lot of stress today.

“Good…”  Merlin observed her curiously for another few moments, then turned back to staring over the wall.  “We have some more visitors.  Couldn’t they have waited a few days?  I’m still tired from chasing off the last one.”

“Why don’t you leave them be for a while then?”  Elena suggested, trying to sound nonchalant.  “It’s not like they can get in even if they try.”

It wasn’t like Elena hadn’t known before that her “rescuers” planned to slay Merlin in order to steal her away.  She knew that was the purpose of every sword in her collection.  But every time she heard one of them say it the thought made her blood run cold.  And now with the threat from the mysterious Anhora looming over them, she was terrified to take any chances.

“I suppose you’re right,” Merlin shrugged.  “But if they start yelling up here and bothering you, let me know and I’ll get rid of them.”

Elena thought she hid her nerves rather well as they set aside the topic and had lunch.  Ceffyl finished her own meal of sweet potatoes and wandered about the roof, exploring her new home.  Elena giggled madly as the unicorn discovered she could make Merlin give the most adorable squeak when she poked his tail with her horn.  Merlin huffed smoke at both of them, but allowed them their game, at least until the repeated poking got to be a bit much.  Then he wrapped his tail tightly around his body and glared at Ceffyl.

“You’ll need to find a way to exercise her.  I don’t think I’m up for being her plaything every day.”

“One of the ballrooms is rather large,” Elena suggested tentatively.  This was the conversation she’d been waiting for.  She would have to go about it very carefully.  “She could run about in there.”

Merlin furrowed his brow.  “But would that be safe for her hooves?  I don’t know anything about horses, let alone unicorns.”

“It’s not the best…” Elena admitted, though she didn’t really know much either.  “Can your magic make it softer?”

“Not without messing with the integrity of the tower.”  He seemed to be coming to the same conclusion she had when the unicorn first arrived.  And just like Elena feared, the idea was not making him happy.  “You’ll need to take her outside,” he sighed softly.

“Are you sure?”

Merlin hung his head.  “I can make an area for you with a barrier so no one will bother you.  You’ll be able to get out, but no one will be able to get in.”

Elena was quick to throw her arms around his neck in a tight hug.  “I’m not going to leave you, Merlin.  You know that, don’t you?”

“I know.”  He didn’t sound like he believed it, though.  Merlin shook himself free and stood, unfurling his wings carefully so as not to hit her.  His eyes glowed a brilliant gold.  “I’m going to go find some horse feed.  I set up the barrier so you can take her out if you want while I’m gone.  I’ll be back by dinner.”  Then he leapt into the air and soared off.

Elena sighed.  She didn’t know what else she could do to convince him.

“Well, Ceff?  Want to go for a run?”

The unicorn nickered and butting her in the arm.  Elena lead her down through the tower towards the door.  She hesitated before opening it.  Those two people were still out there.  They were on the other side of the tower, but they were there.  

But Merlin had given her permission to go out.  Even upset, he wouldn’t have done so if he hadn’t been absolutely sure she would be safe.

Elena opened the door cautiously, peeking out and checking for any signs of movement before allowing Ceffyl to go through.  The unicorn sniffed the air before cantering off.  Elena followed at a more sedated pace.  She wasn’t used to going out in the afternoon.  Merlin usually only ever left in the morning or early evening, and he’d never left her alone twice in one day.  But it wasn’t like the entire world changed after midday.  She had to stop being so nervous.

Elena ran around the clearing with Ceffyl, noting the boundaries were marked clearly with a golden sheen in the air.  Ceffyl poked at the border with her horn, but made no attempt to step through it.  Elena was glad.  Although she wouldn’t stop the unicorn from leaving if she wished, she would mourn the loss of her new friend.

After a while Elena threw herself down to lay on the grass, enjoying the warm sunshine.  Ceffyl came over to snuffle her hair before deciding she was being boring and wandering off.  Elena watched the clouds floating by, letting the light breeze lull her into a light doze.

“There has to be a way in somewhere.  Or at least a good side I can scale my way up.”

Elena leapt to her feet, frantically looking for somewhere to hide.  But the forest was outside Merlin’s barrier, and the door was too far away for her to run to.  Heart beating wildly, she lunged behind Ceffyl, hoping they would be too focused on the tower to pay the unicorn any mind.

“The dragon probably has charms against climbing.  I’m sure someone tried it already before now.”

“Hopefully once I slay it the charms will break.  I don’t fancy asking the princess to- _oof!_ ”

“Arthur!  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he sputtered.  “What the hell was that?”

“It’s like some kind of… invisible _wall_ …”

“This wasn’t here earlier.  Dragon magic?”

Elena peeked out from behind the unicorn, curious.  Arthur and Mithian were feeling along the golden barrier, prodding it and trying to stare through it without success.  Neither of them had pointed out the creature standing right in the middle of the clearing, but Elena didn’t dare take the chance of emerging from her hiding spot, not until she knew for certain.

Ceffyl, however, had no such compunctions.  Instead she made to trot forward towards the newcomers.  Elena attempted to grab for her to hold her steady, but the unicorn ignored her, continuing over to the barrier and dragging Elena with her until they were standing right in front of the two strangers.  Elena waited with baited breath for one of them to try to grab her, despite the wall between them.

But neither of them even paused to glance at Elena and her unicorn.  They just kept inspecting the magic, discussing possible plans to get around it.   _They can’t see us_.  It had to be like the spell that kept the door hidden.  Cautiously she stepped out from behind Ceffyl, ready to run should one of them spot her.

“We must be onto something here,” Arthur insisted.  “There’s no reason to block this area off if there’s nothing here.”

Mithian grinned impishly.  “Maybe the dragon got bored?  Can’t be very exciting living out here in the middle of nowhere.  Perhaps we could distract him by offering a good book?”

Elena giggled helplessly, stuffing a fist in her mouth to stifle the noise.  Arthur and Mithian jumped, eyes widening.

“What was that?”

“It sounded like a person.”  Arthur drew his sword, and Elena automatically stumbled back behind Ceffyl.  “Maybe someone else is hoping to get here before us?”

“But it sounded like it was coming from in _there_.”

Arthur raised his sword towards the barrier, and Mithian loaded an arrow into her crossbow.  “I am Prince Arthur of Camelot,” he called.  “Show yourself.”

 _Like I’m going to do that while you have a weapon pointed at me_.

Ceffyl tossed her head back to nicker softly at Elena.  She butted Elena in the shoulder.  “What?” Elena whispered.  Ceffyl nickered loudly, turning from Elena to look back at the strangers.

“Arthur,” Mithian whispered, just loud enough for Elena to hear.  “That was-”

“I know,” he murmured back.  “What would a dragon be doing with a horse?”

“Oh, Arthur, you don’t think he’s… _eating_ it, do you?”

“Merlin doesn’t eat horses!”

Elena slapped a hand over her mouth.  Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_  Merlin was going to _kill_ her.  She grabbed Ceffyl by the mane and tugged the unicorn back towards the tower.  She had to get back inside _now_.

Mithian laid a hand on Arthur’s arm, nudging his sword down.  “Stop it, you’re probably scaring them.  Hello?” she called out, eyes searching the apparently empty space in front of her.  “I promise we won’t hurt you.  Don’t pay Arthur any mind.  His bark is worse than his bite.”

Arthur huffed and scowled, but sheathed his sword.  Elena bit her lip.  She was completely safe behind Merlin’s barrier.  They already knew someone was there.  What harm was there in just talking them?

“Ehm, hello?”

Arthur and Mithian jumped, and Arthur’s hand reached automatically for his sword again.

“Sorry!”  Elena winced.  Clearly the whole social interaction thing was something she was going to have to work on.  “I didn’t mean to startle you.  I probably should have thought this through a bit more, huh.”

“Where are you?”  Arthur demanded.  “How are you doing that?”

“I’m about… four paces in front of you?  And it’s called a glamour.”

“Who are you?” Mithian asked, shooting Arthur a glare and gesturing for him to put the weapon away again.  “Are you… Are you Princess Elena?”

“I…” Should she admit it?  Really her being the princess was the only logical explanation, but unless she confirmed it it wasn’t like they could ever know for sure.  But as well hung for a sheep as a lamb.  “Maybe?”

“My lady.”  Arthur dropped into a deep bow.  Mithian curtseyed in turn.  “My name is Prince Arthur of Camelot, and this is my companion, Princess Mithian of Nemeth.  We’re here to rescue you.”

“Are you alright, Elena?”  Mithian’s brow furrowed in concern.  “Has the dragon hurt you at all?”

Elena felt a fierce surge of protectiveness towards Merlin.  “He’s my guard, not my torturer.”  She wanted to say more, but Balinor had drilled it into both of them since they were small: the greatest protection either of them had lay in people’s fear of the great and terrible dragon that resided in the tower.  “He’s more concerned with keeping people out than punishing me just for being here.”

“How are you outside?” Mithian asked.  ““We saw the dragon leave.  Can you get through the barrier?”

Elena hedged.  These people seemed nice, but something held her back.  “I haven’t gotten through it yet.” It was probably safest to change the subject.  “Where are Camelot and Nemeth?  How far did you have to travel?”

The two royals looked a bit confused at Elena’s insistence on small talk, but eventually they stopped trying to steer the conversation back to Merlin and her “imprisonment.”  She did share a bit of her life in the tower, waxing eloquently about her collection of books.

“Sounds like she’d love your library back home, Mith,” Arthur rolled his eyes with a smirk.

Mithian grinned and gave him a playful shove.  “She’d love yours too.  Not that you’d know since you’ve never set foot in it.”

Elena drew her into a conversation about a collection of tales by a man named Chaucer.  Balinor had brought it with him when they first moved into the tower, and he read bits of it to them each night before they went to sleep.  Elena still loved to pull it off her shelves to read aloud to Merlin.

Arthur stood listening to them mostly silently, interjecting here and there with a question about the varying plots.  There was confused look in his eyes the entire time, however.  Finally he couldn’t seem to hold back his curiosity.  “How is it you learned to read?  I didn’t know dragons were so literate.”

“Oh, well…” Elena slapped herself mentally for letting her guard down so much.  “There was a caretaker, see.  While I was a child.  Dragons aren’t the best nurses either.  He’s not here anymore.”

As if he could tell Elena was wandering into dangerous territory, a faint sound of wings came from the east.  Immediately the royals leveled their weapons at the sky as Merlin’s shadow came into starker clarity.  Elena gripped Ceffyl by the mane and started to steer her back towards the tower.  “I need to go.  Lovely talking to you.”

“Wait, Elena, you don’t have to go back inside,” Mithian begged.  “Run, hide somewhere.  We’ll find a way to get you out.”

Elena hesitated, but these two didn’t understand.  Even if she wanted to leave, this wasn’t how she could do it. More importantly, Merlin couldn’t find her here.  Not after his reaction this afternoon.  She liked these two, especially Mithian.  She didn’t want Merlin to feel forced to hurt them in her defence.  “I’m sorry.  I’ll come back.  Tomorrow maybe, in the morning?”

“We’ll be here,” Mithian promised.  “Be careful, alright?”

Elena shooed Ceffyl inside, then made her way sheepishly up the stairs.  She prayed Merlin hadn’t noticed her speaking to Arthur and Mithian.  She didn’t want to upset him further after he was already distressed about her being outside on her own.

Merlin was curled up on the roof, head hanging lazily over the ledge.  He didn’t bother to look over when she arrived, simply flicking an ear back in acknowledgement.

“He’s handsome,” Merlin observed dully.  “And he hasn’t wasted his breath yelling about all the things he’s going to force you to do in gratitude for his heroics.”

“He’s okay.”   _He doesn’t like to read._  “The woman’s very pretty, too.”

Merlin shrugged as much as a dragon could.  After dozens of men coming to try for her hand, he’d long ago admitted to her that he himself held an attraction towards some of them.  On happier days, with the more ridiculous of suitors, they would pretend to gamble to see who would be stuck marrying them.

Today was not one of the happier days, and after talking to Arthur and Mithian, she knew things had to change.

“Merlin… we need to talk.”

Merlin swung his head around slowly, face completely dejected.  “You want to go with him.”

Elena shook her head fiercely.  “No, just-  Merlin, you’re not being fair!  The point was never for me to stay here forever.  I’m supposed to be finding my true love, not hiding from the world.  You _know_ I don’t want to leave you.  You’re my first and best friend, and I will always love you.  But you can’t keep guilting me every time I show an interest in life outside the tower.”

She could have sworn she saw a tear trickle down his soft scales.  Before she had a chance to look closer, Merlin had stretched his head forward to wrap his neck around her in a hug.  “I’m sorry, Ellie,” he murmured.  “I didn’t mean to keep you prisoner.”

“You’re not,” she assured him, hugging him tightly.  “You’ve always told me I’m free to go anytime.”

“But you never have.”

“Of course not!  I would never abandon you like that.  But just walking out the door for a few hours doesn’t mean I’ll never come back.  And just because my curse is broken doesn’t mean you’ll never see me again.  I want you to come with me.”

Merlin tried to draw away, but Elena didn’t let him go.  He sighed heavily.  “You won’t be able to keep a dragon around.  No one will want me there to terrify the villagers.”

“We’ll find a way.  I promise, Merlin.  We’re both going to get our happy endings.”  Finally she allowed him to draw back. “We can start small.  Come outside with me tomorrow.  I’ll bring the chess set down, and some food.  We can have a picnic!”

Merlin huffed a laugh, clearly remembering as she was the picnics they used to have when they were younger, sprawling out on the rooftop and acting out what they’d imagined the future to be, Elena playing both herself and the odious men who came to court her, and Merlin playing himself as the heroic dragon.  Elena would use her lunch as her weapon, brandishing loaves of bread like a sword and batting it to pieces against Merlin’s hide.  Then they’d both run giggling through the tower avoiding Balinor’s exasperated scolding.

“How’s your swordplay, Stumblebum?” He winked, using her nickname from when they were children.  “It’s been so long, I’m sure you’ve gotten rusty.”

“I don’t know, Squeakers.  I think I could still take you.”

Elena fell asleep that night content and curled into Merlin’s side like she often had when they were younger.  Sometimes she wished things were that simple again.

 

* * *

 

When Elena awoke the next morning, Merlin was gone.  She frowned at his absence.  Merlin _never_ got up before her.  But then they'd never had suitors spend the night outside the tower before.  Most likely he'd gotten nervous about their presence and gone to glare at them from his favourite perch on the battlements.  With a sigh she made her way up to see him.  Elena could appreciate this wasn't easy for him, but it wasn't going to get any better if he insisted on moping about it.

Climbing out onto the roof Elena's frown deepened.  It was empty.  But Merlin only fit in one room in the entire tower, and he wasn't one for wandering the corridors.  At the same time, it was extremely unlikely he would have left, especially without telling her first.  Then from the far side of the roof, beyond the chair she normally sat on while she read, Elena heard a groan.

“Merlin?”  She ran toward the noise, though there was no way he could have been hiding behind a simple chair.  Had he been shrunken?  Perhaps turned into some kind of small lizard?  Elena could almost find it in her to laugh if he had.  A wyvern had once visited them, and Merlin had ranted for hours about it being a lesser creature than normal dragons.

“Ellie?  Help.”

Elena screamed.  Which was probably not the reaction Merlin had been hoping for when he first realized himself what had happened, but it was the only one her brain could think of right then.

Laying on the ground and speaking with Merlin’s voice was a tall, scrawny man.  A tall, scrawny, _naked_ man.  Elena covered her mouth for a split second to muffle the scream before quickly moving it to her eyes.

“This is a hallucination, isn’t it?  That man did something to me.  Could I be dreaming?  Oh, this is all your fault for bringing the unicorn here!”

Merlin’s voice came again, but this time it was much easier to accept when she couldn’t see the source.  “Ellie, I appreciate that this is a bit hard to take in right now, but would you mind getting me a blanket or something and then explaining what the hell is going on?”

Elena ran to do as he asked, grabbing the thick cover off her bed and bringing it back to toss over him.  Merlin- or the man with Merlin’s voice- wrapped it tightly around himself and poked his head out through the opening.  “Right, now, what’s this about a man?  What just happened here?”

“You’re- you’re a _person._ ”

“Thank you, El,” Merlin, and she was starting to believe it was definitely Merlin, snapped.  “I’d figured that much out.  But how?”

“I was in the kitchen and this man appeared and he said he kept the unicorns and you took a unicorn and only pure people can even see unicorns and you didn’t eat the unicorn so I think he turned you into a person to say thanks.”

Merlin blinked.  Elena didn’t blame him for being speechless.  It was rather a lot for her to take in as well, and she didn’t even have to deal with no longer being a dragon.

Elena had known about Merlin’s curse.  It was hard not to when she’d grown up under the care of Merlin’s very human father.  But she also knew as well as he did that it wasn’t the type of curse that was meant to be broken.  Merlin was meant to be a dragon the rest of his life, which, as a dragon, could last over a thousand years.

Elena smiled brightly and hurried forward to hug him through his blanket.  “Merlin… you’re free.”

He was quite a handsome man.  Elena wasn’t sure what he would have looked like had he always been human, but if it wasn’t this Anhora had done a fine job.  He had clear blue eyes and cheekbones nearly as sharp as his talons had been.  Sure, his ears stuck out a bit far and his dark brown hair was a flyaway mess, but compared to her, he was lovely.

Despite all this, Merlin’s gentle face was quickly twisting into fear and despair.  “No, no, no!  This is bad.  I can’t be human.  I can’t!  He has to turn me back.  You need to get him back here so he can turn me back!”

“What?  Merlin, why?”  Merlin had always wanted to be human.  They used to talk about it when they were younger, Merlin always asking her what it was like.  This was his _dream_.

“You need a dragon!” he cried despondently, curling himself into a ball.  “I can’t protect you like this.  No one will be scared of me now!”

He _hated_ that people were so scared of him.  “It’ll be okay, Merlin.  We got by just fine when you were too young to intimidate anyone.”  Elena thought of the two people sitting out in the woods right now.  Would they assume Merlin was just never going to come out again?  Or would they think perhaps he already had and they hadn’t noticed?

“That’s because my father had magic.  And because no grown man reasonably thinks he can be the true love of a baby.  Unless you could imprint on him like a baby duckling!  Because that wouldn’t be creepy at all!” Merlin was getting hysterical.  She needed to calm him down before he completely lost it.

“You have magic too, don’t you?  You could create a fake dragon.  If anyone comes you just have to show them the fake, and they won’t even try.”

“How about I just put on a sock puppet show?  I’m sure they’ll just cower in fear!  I don’t know _how_ to do human magic, Elena.”

“Merlin, it’ll be okay, I promise,” she soothed, doing her best to hide her own bit of panic.  “No one can get in here, not with all the charms you and Balinor have on the place.  All you did before was just chase people away so they wouldn’t bother us for weeks until they gave up.  So we have to put up with a few annoying suitors.  It’s not the end of the world.  And if someone _does_ manage to get up here, not that they will, maybe it’s a sign that they’re the one we’ve been waiting for.”

Merlin still looked unconvinced, but at least he wasn’t in danger of hyperventilating anymore.  “I don’t think my father took this into consideration when he was warding the place.”

Elena giggled.  “Can you imagine if he’d had to raise us both as humans?  And he thought it was hard enough with a baby dragon.  Imagine the hell we could have wreaked if you’d had opposable thumbs.”

“Because breathing fire wasn’t bad enough?”  Merlin finally relaxed, slumping in defeat against the flagstones.  “I guess we’ll just have to be careful for now.  This can’t last forever.  I doubt unicorn man power is stronger than dragon power, especially wrathful dragon power.”

Ceffyl snorted at that, causing the two of them to laugh despite themselves.  Elena reached over to ruffle his mane.  “Aw, don’t listen to big mean dragon, Ceff.  He’s just jealous because you’re prettier than him now.”

Merlin gave her shove.  “Go make us some breakfast, human, while I go rifle through your knickers for some trousers that might fit.”

“Ooo, there’s a dress in there I’ve always thought would look just fetching on you.”

Elena avoided his kick and trotted down the stairs towards the kitchen.  Luckily he had brought back a fresh supply of food a few days ago.  Now that he wasn’t able to hunt as easily for game, vegetables were probably going to be their mainstay for a while.  Oh, Merlin was going to hate that.  He’d once had a bite of her green beans and spit it out, proclaiming it nothing more than rabbit food.  Elena couldn’t wait to see him choking down a plate of corn and brussel sprouts later tonight.  For now she went easy on him, cooking a small rabbit over the fire for him and picking out an apple for herself.  When she made it back to the roof, however, Merlin wasn’t back yet.

Elena left the plates on the table and (after shooting a warning look at Ceffyl not to touch them) retreated back down the staircase to her room.  Where she promptly burst into laughter.

Merlin sat on the floor half-naked and clutching a set of tunics helplessly, staring at them like they were some kind of foreign invention.  On his bottom half he had managed to put on a pair of trousers, but they while they were only slightly too wide for him, the cuffs ended midway up his calves.

“My poor little dragon,” Elena cooed, earning herself a glare.  “Here, let me do it.”  She took the tunics from him and placed them back in the wardrobe, pulling out a much longer one.  “I can’t fix the trousers, but at least your midriff won’t freeze.”

“Is that a dress?” Merlin scowled, eyeing the garment suspiciously.  “I’m not wearing a dress.”

“Of course it’s not,” Elena assured him with as straight a face as she could manage.  “I would never do that to you.”

Merlin yanked the fabric over his head, fumbling about and putting his head up a sleeve three times before he managed to find the right hole.  Elena was nearly on the floor with giggles by the time he tugged his arms back out to turn the whole thing frontwards.  “Nice to know I at least have such a supportive friend to see me through this.”

“The way I see it, you have two choices.  You can either mope the entire time, or you can have a laugh.  Neither one is going to fix things, but you may as well try to be happy while it’s happening.”

“I suppose,” Merlin admitted glumly, picking at the fabric of the -yes, it really was- dress.  “Is the food ready then?”

“It’s upstairs waiting for us.”  She held out a hand to haul him to his feet.  Merlin swayed, clutching to her for support, then took a wobbling step forward.

“I don’t know how you humans do this,” he grumbled, not letting go as they made their way slowly through the corridors.  “I can barely even see where I’m going.  How do you expect me to balance on these little toothpicks when I can’t even tell the difference between the walls and the floor?”

Elena let him complain, hoping that eventually he’d whinge his way out of this mood.  Despite her friend’s worries, she hoped this change _was_ permanent.  If there was anyone who deserved a happy ending it was Merlin.  Maybe now that Merlin was human they could leave this place and go adventuring on their own.  No one knew what Elena looked like.  There was no reason for them to skulk about afraid of discovery.  They could explore the kingdom together, find out what they’d been missing out on all these years.

Of course, they’d probably be old and grey by the time Merlin got over his paranoia, but she could always dream.

Luckily even Merlin had to laugh as he struggled to eat the steak she’d prepared for him.  Elena’s table manners had never been the best either (they’d never really had to be, though Balinor’d despair every time she belched at the table), but at least she knew _how_ to use a fork and knife.  Eventually Merlin gave up, grabbed the meat in his hands, and simply ripped into it with his teeth, eyes daring Elena to say something about it.

Elena just picked a bit of apple skin out of her teeth and smiled.

When she came back from taking their dishes to the kitchen (someone was going to have to go fetch water later), she found Merlin at his favourite perch by the battlements, though now he merely peeked over the edge rather than his usual head draping.  “They’re out there again.”  Any trace of happiness was gone again.  “I guess I should have chased them off when I had the chance, huh.”

Elena joined him to peer over the side.  Arthur and Mithian paced the area where she had been the day before, obviously waiting for her to keep their scheduled meeting. “They’re not so bad,” she countered cautiously.  “Why don’t you go out and meet them?  Maybe you’ll like them once you get to know them.”

Merlin looked quite unconvinced about that, but after a moment he heaved a sigh and nodded.  “Maybe I will,” he agreed quietly.

“I promised you a picnic today, didn’t I?” she reminded him, eager break him back out of this slump.  “I’ll go fetch the chess board, and we can play until lunch.  It’ll be fun, Merlin.  I promise.”

“Then I’m sure it will be.”

 

* * *

 

 

Merlin did his absolute best not to flinch when Elena opened the door to the outside.  He wasn’t afraid, really he wasn’t.  Not for himself, anyway.  But the outside world opened up a range of possibilities and without his dragon magic he was powerless to defend Elena against any of them.

 _“It is your responsibility to defend her, Merlin.”_ Balinor had said time after time.   _“Many men will come here thinking she’s a naïve little girl they can control.  You mustn’t allow them the chance to try.”_

Now they were here, mere _metres_ from one of those men his father had warned him about, and Merlin couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

But this was what Elena wanted.  Elena wanted to go outside.  Elena wanted to get to know her latest suitor.  And Elena wanted to share it all with Merlin.

Merlin had always been powerless against denying her anything.  He just wished she didn’t know that so well.

Elena skipped barefoot across the grass like she’d been born to it.  He wondered if she remembered the old days as well as he did.  Before the first men had come looking for her, Balinor had let them play outside.  He’d even transformed the earth from the desolate desert it was once to a small oasis.  It wasn’t much, only extending a few dozen metres to the back and halfway to the existing tree line in front, but it was enough for a pair of toddlers who craved sunshine.  Back then Merlin had loved the outdoors as much as Elena did now.  Then he saw someone shoot his father in the shoulder without so much as a warning.  Saw his first kill as his father magically snapped the man’s neck.

These people had weapons too.  Merlin had seen them from above.  The woman carried a crossbow.  She wouldn’t even have to get near them to send an arrow flying their way.

“It’s okay, Merlin,” Elena soothed softly.  Obviously he wasn’t hiding his distress as well as he hoped.  “Come sit.  Your barrier’s still up, they can’t even see us, let alone hurt us.”

Merlin took a deep breath and tried again to calm his nerves.  She was right, of course.  He’d designed the wall to be impenetrable, just like the walls of the tower.  So long as it stood, they were protected.  At least he’d managed to do one thing right.

“-knew we shouldn’t have let her go back in there!” the woman’s voice became clearer as they strayed from the tower door.  “What if that dragon’s hurt her?”

“Don’t worry, Mithian.  We’ll get her out of there.  I promised my father I would slay that foul beast, and slay him I will.”

Merlin tried not to let the words hurt him.  After all, he’d just spent the better part of the morning lamenting the loss of his ability to strike terror into the hearts and souls of men.  But that didn’t mean it didn’t crush a tiny part of his own soul every time he had to listen to himself be called a “foul beast.”

Elena tugged him towards them.  Merlin tried to resist, but he still struggled to stand on two feet (he’d missed out on this phase of human development due to the whole being turned into a dragon thing), so he was forced to follow.

“Mithian, Arthur, I’m okay,” she called over.  “No one’s hurt me.”

“Elena!”  The woman -Mithian- sagged in relief.  “We were so worried.  We didn’t see the dragon leave this morning, and we thought maybe he’d found out about you being outside yesterday.”

“I told you, he wouldn’t hurt me.”  Elena squeezed Merlin’s hand comfortingly.  “That’s not his job.  He protects me.”

“I’m afraid we still haven’t found a way to get you out of here,” Arthur raked a hand through his hair.  In spite of himself, Merlin felt his heart flutter.  He may have been bitter when he pointed out the man’s looks to Elena yesterday, but he hadn’t been lying.  The latest suitor was definitely easy on the eyes.  “Our court physician, Gaius, knows all about magical charms and how to break them, but I don’t dare leave you so long as to go back to consult with him.  You don’t deserve to wait any longer.”

Merlin leaned in close and whispered in Elena’s ear so they couldn’t hear.  “You were right.  I like him.”

“I’m fine here, I assure you,” Elena said back, giving Merlin a swift kick and a smile.  “Why is it everyone seems to conveniently forget it was my own parents who put me here?”

 _Because it’s easier to blame the beast._  Although he’d never said a word against them to Elena, Balinor had always scowled when her parents were brought up.  The lord and lady of Gawant had never once visited to Merlin’s knowledge.  Whether that was for Elena’s protection or because it was too painful, he didn’t know.  But you didn’t lock your child up in a tower with a fearsome dragon to guard her if you didn’t care, right?

“The important thing is you’re out here now,” Mithian said.  “How long do you think you can stay?”

Elena glanced at Merlin.  He shrugged.  If it was up to him they’d go back in right now, but he knew that wouldn’t be fair.  “I don’t know for sure, but a while.”

Mithian smiled.  “Good.  It must get lonely in there all by yourself.  A dragon can’t be that good of company.”

Merlin snorted, and Elena shot him an amusing look.  If only these people knew just how good a company a dragon could really be.

So of course that was the moment Merlin’s spell decided to fail.

Merlin could tell the instant they could see through the barrier, the shimmer of gold flashing brightly for an instant before going out entirely.  Their visitors’ eyes widened, and they automatically reached for their weapons.  Merlin lunged in front of Elena, shielding her as best he could with his puny human body, hand outstretched like he’d seen his father do a hundred times when doing magic.  He didn’t know any spells, but maybe if they thought he did they wouldn’t risk it.

“Who are you?” Mithian demanded.

“Are you wearing a dress?” Arthur asked.

“Wait!”  Elena cried out, trying to get out from behind him.  Merlin just shoved her back again.  “Don’t hurt him!  He’s my friend.”

“Princess Elena?”  Arthur asked cautiously, sword not wavering from its angle towards Merlin’s chest.

“Yes, it’s me!  Please don’t hurt Merlin.  Merlin, it’s okay.  Don’t you hurt them either.”

Mithain lowered her crossbow.  Arthur hesitated before following suit.  “How did you get in there?  We tried all night but couldn't penetrate the shield.”

Merlin felt a brief flare of pride.  Of course they couldn't.  Elena answer for him.  “Merlin lives here with me.  He takes care of me.”

“Merlin?” Arthur repeated slowly.

“Yes, Merlin,” he snapped back.  “It was my mothers’ favourite bird.”

Merlin expected another snappy comment implying this confirmed he was actually a girl, but Arthur actually blushed and fell silent instead.  There was an awkward pause, then Mithian made to step forward.

“At least you can finally - _oof_!”  Mithian tumbled backward onto the grass.

Arthur rushed over to her.  “Mith, are you okay?  What happened?”

“I guess the wall isn’t fully down.”  She allowed Arthur to pull her carefully to her feet, and frowned, prodding the barrier gently.  “I was so hoping…” she said softly.

Arthur poked at the barrier with his sword.  “Maybe there’s an area somewhere along here where it’s fallen completely.  We should follow it and see if we can find a weak spot.”

Merlin’s heart jumped.  They couldn’t come through.  They couldn’t.  “I’ll go with you.”  Mithian might look very comfortable with her crossbow, but it was clear Arthur had been trained to use his weapon from birth.  And he was the one who kept talking about killing things.  “Ellie, why don’t you stay here with Ceffyl?”

Elena glared, seeing right through his nonchalant tone.  She plopped herself down on the grass, though, and started setting up the chess set.  Mithian sat down across from her, claiming the black pieces.

Arthur rested his sword tip on the barrier and began to drag it along as he walked, pausing occasionally to probe the invisible wall with his fingertips.  Merlin followed along silently, focusing on attempting to stay upright on his human legs.  That is until Arthur’s own focus caused him to trip over a root, sprawling on the ground with an _oomph._

Arthur scowled and hauled himself to his feet.  “You could be more helpful.”

“I could,” Merlin agreed with a smirk.

“Then why aren’t you?”

Merlin shrugged.  “You’re assuming I want you to get in.”

That caused the prince to pause, tilting his head in confusion.  “Don’t you?”

He didn’t.  And he did.  It was complicated.  He’d had twenty years to prepare himself for the day Elena left him, but it still wasn’t enough.  Arthur seemed nice enough, if a bit of a prat.  Everything he’d done so far had been with Elena’s best interests in mind.  Merlin had to respect that.  “So what exactly does a prince do when he’s not rescuing princesses?”

“Is that a thing with you two?  You change the subject every time you don’t like the question?”

“We’ve lived on top of each other for twenty years,” Merlin admitted, flashing a smile he hoped would be distracting enough to stop any more probing questions.  “You either learned to make things work for you or you fought about everything.”  Like Merlin’s tooth picking.  That had driven Elena up a wall until Merlin had captured her a dagger and taught her to do the same.

Arthur rolled his eyes, but he didn’t push.  “I train my knights.  I lead patrols.  I fight against bandits and magical creatures.”

“My, and how much time does that leave you to preen for your admirers?”

Instead of getting offended like Merlin had expected, Arthur snorted in amusement.  “Believe me, Morgana would never allow me to preen.  She’s my father’s ward, and basically like my sister.  An annoying pain in the arse, but a sister.  Don’t tell her I said that, though.  She’d never let me live it down.”

“Elena’s like my sister, too,” Merlin said.  Arthur’s smile slipped off his face at Merlin’s serious tone.  “I won’t let anyone hurt her.  No matter what.”

“Then it’s a good thing I have no intention of doing that.”

They made their way around the entire boundary Merlin had created, doubling back to check every area twice.  Merlin couldn’t help a smug sense of pride that try as he might Arthur couldn’t discover a signal weak point.  Not for lack of trying, either.  While Arthur worked he regaled Merlin with more stories of his life in Camelot, telling him about his almost-sister Morgana, her maid Guinevere, and his best knight Leon.  Merlin surprised himself at how easily he laughed at some of Arthur’s antics growing up.  He could almost forget for a moment that Arthur was there to take his friend away.

Then they reached the end of the wall, and reality set in again.

“Damn it!” Arthur growled, startling Mithian and Elena away from their game.  “Damn magic!”

“Arthur-” Mithian stood and stepped towards him.

He shook her off.  “No.  No, we’re not giving up.  We’re going to get you out of there.  I gave you my word.”

Elena exchanged a look with Merlin, and he knew exactly what she was thinking.  She could walk through the barrier right now and put Arthur out of his misery.  There was nothing stopping her.

Nothing but Merlin.

Merlin closed his eyes.  He couldn’t do this.  He couldn’t watch her walk away.  But he couldn’t keep her here either.  It wasn’t fair.  Well, their lives had never been fair.  But this was his chance to restore a little bit of the balance.  Eyes still shut, he gave a shot nod.

When he opened them, he expected to see Elena on the other side and wrapped up in Arthur’s arms.   The thought of that sent a strangely stronger pang than even he had expected.  But no one had moved.  Elena was still sat by her chess board, resetting the pieces for another game.

“Merlin and I were planning on having a picnic,” she announced, as if absolutely nothing had happened.  “Would you please join us?”

Merlin itched to talk to Elena about why she hadn’t taken that step through.  But for the rest of the afternoon she ignored any hints about going back inside, chatting and laughing with Mithian like they were old friends.  Arthur tried to draw Merlin into conversation as well, but Merlin struggled to keep his focus well enough to follow any stories or questions.

 _Finally_ even Elena had to admit they needed to return to the tower.  The sky was growing dark overhead, and Merlin at least was shivering in his ill-fitting clothes.  Mithian and Arthur were clearly distressed to see them go, even with Elena promising to come back tomorrow.  Merlin wondered how much longer they were going to wait.  Eventually they would have to go home.  Arthur had duties back in Camelot, and Mithian had admitted she hadn’t exactly asked for permission to tag along.  If they didn’t return soon, the combined armies of two kingdoms might descend upon the tower.

And so that was why Merlin turned on Elena the moment the door closed behind them.  “You have to go with them.”

He refused to let it hurt that she didn’t disagree.  “You can come too now.  They won’t say no if I insist you accompany me.”

“Ellie-”

“No, Merlin!”  Elena crossed her arms tightly.  “I saw you out there earlier.  You were happy.  You aren’t meant to be alone.  I won’t leave without you.  You’re my _family_.”

“I don’t _have_ a family!”

Elena blinked in shock at his outburst.  For a moment neither of them said anything, simply glared at each other, unwilling to back down.  Then Elena uncrossed her arms and smoothed her hands briskly down the front of her dress, face stony.  “I’m going to bed.  Make me breakfast in the morning and _maybe_ I’ll be willing to accept your apology.”  Then she stalked away up the stairs.  Ceffyl followed her, shooting a baleful glance back at Merlin.

Merlin sighed and  slumped against the wall.  He hadn’t meant that.  Elena _was_ his family, just as he’d told Arthur earlier.  She was all the family had left, his dearest little sister.

Slowly Merlin made his way up to the roof.  He did his best thinking up there, and although thinking was the last thing he wanted to do, he knew sleep would not come tonight without it.  As he pushed open the door, he spotted Ceffyl standing in the middle of the roof.  Merlin furrowed his brow.  “Elena?  Are you up here?”

“Your princess is enjoying a dreamless sleep.  It is her own reward for her care towards Ceffyl.”

Merlin whirled around , searching for the owner of the voice, but there was no one behind him.  He turned back to find a strange man standing by Ceffyl.

“Who are you?”

“I am Anhora, keeper of the unicorns.  Are you enjoying your reward, Merlin?”

“Reward?”  Merlin gaped.  He didn’t even bother to ask how the man knew his name.  “This is your idea of a reward?”

“To be human has been your dearest wish since the moment you learned of your curse.  I have granted you one day in such a body.  Has this not made you happy?”

One day.  So Merlin was right, this wasn’t permanent.  Of course it wasn’t.  Balinor had searched Merlin’s entire life for a cure, but there was no magic stronger than that of a dragon.  It simply couldn’t be done.  “No.  No it hasn’t made me happy.”  How could false hope make anyone happy?  Elena would be crushed when she found out tomorrow.

Anhora simply raised an eyebrow, unperturbed by the bitterness in Merlin’s voice.  “Perhaps you simply have not taken as full advantage of the opportunity as you should.”

“Full advantage?”

“You have until dawn, Merlin.  Use your time wisely.  Be happy.”

Then as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone.

“ _Be happy_ ,” Merlin growled to himself.  “What does that even mean?”

What made him happy?  Elena.  Seeing her smile, listening to her laugh.  She had laughed so much today, in the presence of Mithian and Arthur.  More than he’d heard in a long time.

That was it.  Merlin was meant to use his temporary form to get Elena her dream.  Even if it would break his heart to let her go, being with her true love and breaking her curse would be her dream come true, and if Merlin couldn’t be happy for that, then he didn’t deserve to be happy anyway.  He'd always told himself that was all he wanted.  Yet when the time had come, he'd practically locked the door and thrown away the key.

Merlin crept quietly into Elena’s room.  True to Anhora’s words, she was fast asleep, snoring on her pillow.  Merlin pressed a kiss to her forehead, earning an upward twitch of her lips.  "I'm sorry I was such an idiot," he whispered.  Then he snatched up a cloak from her closet and tip-toed as well as he could back out.

The night air was much warmer wrapped up in the thick cloak.  Merlin picked his way through the woods, taking care not to trip over roots or fallen branches.  He was quickly gaining skill in using his human body, but he knew he was far from graceful.   _Not that it will matter in the morning_ , he thought bitterly.

Eventually he found what he was looking for.  Mithian lay under a blanket by a crackling fire, resting as peaceful as Elena was back in the tower.  Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

Mithian seemed kind.  She wanted to help Elena as much as Arthur did.  If Merlin could just explain the situation-

“You know, all this lurking around, one might start to think you’re up to something.”

Merlin jumped and whirled around.  Arthur stood behind him, arms crossed and eyebrow raised suspiciously.  His hip was mysteriously bare of his sword.  “Oh yes, because sneaking up on people isn’t creepy at all.”

“I’m supposed to be here.  You’re apparently supposed to be inside with Elena.  Yet strangely no one has ever mentioned you before.”

“Pretty sure no one has ever seen Ellie either,” Merlin snapped back.  There was just something about Arthur that raised his hackles.  “Yet it hasn’t stopped clotpoles like you from haring after her.”

Arthur barked a laugh, relaxing his arms and leaning against a tree.  “Good point.  A lot of people actually do believe it’s an old tavern tale these days.  The only thing no one has ever doubted is the dragon.  It causes enough damage in the surrounding villages it would be impossible to ignore.”

Merlin winced.  He’d done his best to spare the villagers, but they were so far from the larger estates he had a hard time finding lords and ladies to rob.  But what else was he supposed to do?  He couldn’t let Elena starve, nor could he let her go without clothing.  That was why he had been so excited about finding the unicorn.  He’d been able to give Ellie her wish without depriving some poor farmer of the only way to till his field.

“How long have you lived in the tower?” Arthur asked.  Merlin blinked at the change in topic, but the prince looked genuinely interested.

“My whole life, I think,” he answered honestly.  “At least for as long as I can remember.”

“Is your family here with you then?  Elena mentioned a caretaker who nursed her and taught her to read.  Was that your mother?”

Merlin took a seat at the base of a tree, hoping the movement would hide the way his heart twinged at the question.  He wasn’t sure how well it worked when Arthur plopped down next to him.  “My father, actually.”  Balinor had done his best to prepare Elena for future court life, or at least life with other humans.  It hadn’t really worked that well.  Perhaps it was the result of the curse.  Or perhaps that was just what happened when one’s only other companion was a young dragon.  Merlin had certainly never cared if Elena could curtsey without falling over.  “I’ve never met my mother.”

“Me neither,” Arthur admitted.  Merlin glanced at him in surprise.  “She died when I was born.  My father never talks about her, but the servants tell me about her sometimes.”

“My father never talked about her either.  I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”  He’d wondered, after Balinor left them alone in the tower, if perhaps he went back to live with her.  Or maybe the dragons had killed her when they cursed him.  Or maybe he was even more like Arthur than he’d thought, with a mother who’d died giving birth to him.  It was unlikely he would ever know now.

“Why don’t you go look for her?  The dragon obviously doesn’t care if _you_ leave.”

Merlin shook his head fiercely.  “I wouldn’t leave Ellie like that.  I don’t just abandon people who depend on me.  Not like- not like some people.”

Arthur rested a hand on his shoulder.  “Your father?” he asked softly.  Merlin didn’t respond, but Arthur nodded knowingly.  “I know what that’s like.  My father hasn’t been around since my mother died.  Not really.”

An unexplainable urge to lean into Arthur’s hand, to give comfort as much as receive, swept through him.  Merlin tamped it down hard.  Arthur wasn’t here for him.  He was meant for Elena.  They were going to go off and get married back in Camelot, and Merlin was destined to stay here, alone, for the rest of his very long dragon life.

He couldn’t make himself look Arthur in the eye, but he managed to give a wry smile.  “If it makes you feel better, I think Elena wants to go with you.  The others… she’s never cared about any of them before.  And it’s been good for her to spend time with Mithian.  She seems much happier to be around some feminine company for a change.”

“Yeah, Mithian likes her too.”  There was an odd quality to Arthur’s voice.  Merlin almost looked up to try to spot what it was, but his gaze was fixed firmly to his knees.  “If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to yell at me?”

Merlin shrugged.  “I can promise not to yell _loudly._ ”

Arthur huffed a laugh.  “Of course, what was I thinking?  Fine, I guess that will suffice.”  He was quiet for a moment, and Merlin wondered if he’d changed his mind despite his words.  But then he heaved a sigh Merlin knew well.  It was the sigh of guilt towards someone you’ve disappointed.  “Every time another man returned to Camelot with tales of the fire-breathing dragon that guards the cursed princess, my father would always turn to me say ‘One day that dragon must be defeated, Arthur.  I trust you won’t disappoint me.’  When I left to come here, that was my task.  Kill the dragon.  Elena was just a side benefit.”  Merlin tensed and finally lifted his eyes up to glare.  Arthur shrugged guiltily.  “I know, she deserves better than that.  That’s why I brought Mithian.  I thought that maybe after she was free Elena might like to go live with her.  My father will probably be furious when I don’t marry her, but trust me, she deserves better than that too.”

“Better than being a queen?  Better than her true love?”

“I’m not her true love, Merlin.  Trust me, I’m not.”

“How can you know?”  Arthur couldn’t turn Elena down like this!  She’d been waiting her entire life for her true love to break the curse and take her away from here.  No matter how much he wanted  to keep her friendship forever, Merlin would never stand in the way of that.  Not even if there was a part- a very small part he was steadfastly ignoring- that was leaping at Arthur’s words.  “Just give her chance!”

“It wouldn’t matter.  This morning when the illusion fell and the two of you were suddenly standing before us, it wasn’t Elena who caught my eye.”  Arthur leaned in dangerously close, and Merlin knew he should pull back, but that very small part was a bit bigger than he wanted to admit.  “With your giant ears shielding her, how could she ever stand a chance?”

Then Arthur closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against Merlin.  Shock was the reason Merlin would give himself later to explain why he didn’t push Arthur away immediately.  But in the present he was relaxing into it, responding, exploring.  Right up until Arthur ran his tongue along the crease of Merlin’s lips.

Then he was up and on his feet faster than his skill of walking could handle, nearly sending him crashing to the ground again.  “I have to go,” Merlin stammered.

“Merlin-”

“Elena will be worried if she notices I’m gone."

“Merlin, wait-”

“So will the dragon.  You remember, the scary man-eating dragon.”  Merlin was babbling now, but he had to get away.  Arthur was meant for Elena.  No matter what Arthur said, Elena loved him, and that had to be enough for the curse.

“Fine,” Arthur sighed and heaved himself slowly to his feet.  “You will come back out with Elena tomorrow?”  

“I-” Tomorrow he would be a dragon again.  Now Merlin realized that was probably for the best.  He mustered a small smile.  If this was to be the last time Arthur saw him, Merlin wanted the memory to be good.  “I won’t deflect on you this time.  Goodnight, Arthur.”

 

* * *

 

Elena awoke to a hand on her shoulder.  That was definitely going to take some getting used to.  Merlin couldn’t fit through the door to her room as a dragon, so usually the only time he was near her while she was sleeping was when they collapsed in a cuddle pile together.  And those times Elena was usually the one to awaken first.  Apparently dragons weren’t morning people.

“Go ‘way, Merlin.  Or else I’ll feed you rabbit food for the rest of your _life_.”

“Elena, you have to get up.  Now!”

Okay, so that _definitely_ wasn’t Merlin’s voice.  Elena cracked her eyelids, then bolted upright at the sight of Mithian kneeling by her side.  Arthur stood in the doorway, shifting anxiously from foot to foot and peering down the corridor.

“What- how did you get in here?”  It shouldn’t have been possible.  For nearly twenty years it hadn’t been possible.  Maybe the curse had finally driven her mad and she was seeing things.

“The wards were down.  We have to go no-”

“Merlin.”  Elena leapt out of bed, not even bothering to change out of her night gown.  She sprinted towards the stairs.  There could be a logical explanation.  After all, Merlin’s spell had half failed yesterday.  But the ward hiding the door wasn’t his magic.  He could control it, but he wasn’t powering it.

Arthur stopped her at the door.  “My lady, you need to go with Mithian and get as far away from here as possible.  I’m going after the dragon.”

“No, Merlin-”

A shadow passed over Arthur’s face.  “I’ll find Merlin, I promise.  But you and I both know he’d want you to be safe first and foremost.”

Well Elena couldn’t argue with that, but that didn’t mean she had to listen to Arthur’s commands.  She was in no danger from dragons, not here.  She pushed past the prince and sprinted to the stairs, ascending them so quickly she made herself slightly dizzy.  The rooftop was Merlin’s favourite place in their small little world.  If everything was okay, that was where he’d be.   _Please be there, Merlin.  Please._

Bursting onto the roof, Elena suddenly took back every prayer.  She’d give anything for that not to be Merlin in front of her.

Merlin didn’t even look surprised when she appeared in a panic.  He simply flicked his eyes over at her and then resumed his position, head draped over the battlements and staring off into the distance, tail curled tightly around his once more scaly body.

“Oh, Merlin.”  Elena took a step forward, meaning to go to him and comfort his loss, but suddenly she was being shoved backward and there was chainmail in her face.

“Run, my ladies.  I’ll hold him off.”  Arthur levelled his sword at the dragon, who did _absolutely nothing_ _to defend yourself, Merlin, what are you thinking?_

Elena tried to run forward again, but Mithian had a grip around her that was surprisingly strong for such a small woman.  “No don’t, please!  Merlin!”  She couldn’t watch Arthur do this.  No matter that Merlin looked poised to let him.  “Please don’t hurt him!  He’s my friend!”

Now Merlin swung his head over to look at her.  Their eyes connected, and Elena sent every plea she could muster to the only friend she had ever had.  He heaved himself slowly to his feet, and Arthur feinted with his sword, keeping himself between the dragon and the women.

**_“We both knew you’d have to leave one day.  Go be happy.  I love you, Ellie.”_ **

Though he’d never done it before, Elena knew that voice in her head somehow belonged to Merlin.

“Don’t,” she repeated softly.

But before Arthur could decide Merlin’s change in position meant he was about to attack, Merlin stretched his wings and took to the sky.

“No!” Arthur cried out in fury as the dragon slipped away.  “What the hell just happened?  Why did it run away?”

Elena didn’t bother to wipe away the tears in her eyes, sagging into Mithian’s arms in despair.  “He did it for me.  Just like he always has.”

 

* * *

 

 

Neither Arthur nor Mithian could pull Elena out of her slump as they made their way across the barren land beyond the tower.  It turned out Ceffyl wasn’t opposed to being ridden, which was good since Elena didn’t think she was up to walking.

Her best friend was gone.  Alone, homeless, unwelcome by even his own kin.

How could this be the reward the unicorn keeper had been talking about?  How had one day of freedom helped Merlin at all?  All it had done was give Merlin a taste of what he was missing, to show him the barest hint of what he could never have.  He hadn’t deserved any of the punishments he’d been served for crimes he had never committed.

At least her companions seemed to respect her desire for silence, even if they obviously couldn’t understand it.  They’d let her take the time to pack a few trinkets once the dragon was clearly not coming back.  At first Elena had wanted to leave it all, to abandon every painful reminder of her past.  But that had felt like abandoning Merlin all over again, and in the end she collected a few of her books, the chess set, and the sword Merlin always used to clean his teeth.  It felt like taking a piece of her friend’s protection with her.

“I’m sorry about Merlin,” Mithian had said while she was packing.  Apparently they had come to the conclusion that the dragon had eaten him, and that’s why Elena was so upset.  She didn’t bother to correct them.  In a way, the dragon _had_ killed her friend.  But no one would ever, _could_ ever understand the life they had had together before today.

She wasn’t stupid.  Yes, she’d dreamed of taking Merlin with her when she left the tower.  Merlin would even play along with her every time she mentioned it.  But deep down they both knew how ridiculous that was.  After all, what was she supposed to say?   “Thanks for rescuing me from this wicked place.  By the way, the dragon comes with me?”

Elena wondered when Arthur was going to get around to breaking the curse.  He hadn’t shown a single gesture of affection for her beyond friendship since they’d met, and now he seemed as depressed as she did.  The shallow part of her hoped he wasn’t so upset about the prospect of kissing her, and then the rest of her berated that part because how could she be thinking of herself at a time like this?

But no, she had to think of happy things.  Merlin wanted her to be happy.  It would be four days ride to Camelot.  Then there would probably be wedding, which she would be expected to be happy for.  Mithian would have to go back to her own kingdom.  And Elena would be left alone, wedded to a stranger who wouldn’t even look her in the eye.

_No, Elena, happy thoughts._

Would she see her parents again?  Surely Arthur would send for them immediately.  Would she know who they were?  Were they really still waiting for her?  Did she have brothers and sisters, ones who had escaped her curse?  Would she like them?  Elena really didn’t know, and that scared her.  Until now, she’d only ever known two people in her life.  Balinor hadn’t been a bad sort, but he hadn’t been the greatest father figure either, to her or Merlin.  Was her own father any different?

Maybe it was because she was so used to Merlin that she didn’t notice the thwump of flapping wings until a screech ripped through the air.  For a brief second Elena looked skyward hopefully, thinking Merlin had changed his mind and returned to her.  But the creatures descending upon them were nothing like Merlin.

Elena recognized them immediately.  Wyverns they were called.  She had only seen the one, but it had been enough to know that it would have ripped her to shreds had Merlin not been around to protect her.  Now there was a group of three circling overhead.  One swooped low in front of Ceffyl, startling the unicorn into rearing.  Elena screamed.

“Run!  Make for the forest!”  Arthur commanded, unsheathing his sword and slashing it at one of their attackers.  Mithian aimed one of her bolts at another, clipping its wing.  With trembling fingers Elena drew her own weapon.  She’d never had to use it for real before.  It was one thing to stage a mock fight with Merlin, it was quite another to face a dragon-like creature that actually wanted to hurt her.

Even if Elena had wanted to obey, the wyverns prevented any of them from making a run for it.  Arthur was knocked off his horse by a heavy blow, and Mithian and Elena dismounted soon after, letting the horses flee in their panic.  Elena swung her sword in the patterns her muscles remembered, but it didn’t seem to be working.  The wyverns were still fighting with a gusto, and she and the others were fatiguing quickly.

Then a bellowing roar temporarily deafened them as a familiar sight dove into the fray.

Merlin batted aside the wyverns like troublesome pups, launching a slew of fire to drive them away from the three humans.  The wyverns didn’t give up immediately, but with another roar they were quickly cowed.  Elena couldn’t help but stare along with the others.  Balinor had told her about the powers of a dragonlord, of course, but she’d never seen them in person.  He would never have stooped so low as to use them on his own son, and there hadn’t exactly been any other dragons around to test them on.

Threat gone, Merlin landed and relaxed back on his haunches, shooting Elena a smug smirk.   _“ **Couldn’t last five minutes without-”**_

Merlin broke off with a surprised blink.  Then he and Elena both shifted their gazes until they saw the crossbow bolt sticking out of Merlin’s chest.

 

* * *

 

 

_What the dragons didn't understand was Balinor had been tricked just as much as they had._

_For the last year the dragonlords had been on thin ice with Uther.  Though the king hunted down the magical creatures left and right and centre, he had seemed willing to ignore those dragonlords who didn't fight back.  It was as if he believed that once the dragons were gone, the magic of the dragonlord would die with them._

_Of course the dragons were not so passive towards their hidden masters.  Though they could not disobey their power many fled far enough away that the magic could no longer reach them._

_When only the Great Dragon was left, too old to fly so far but still wily enough to evade capture, it was then that Uther seemed to remember the power that his dragonlords held._

_Balinor had wanted to run with the others.  Truly he had.  But he could not abandon his family.  Uncle Gaius was all he had left in this world.  Every day he feared Gaius’s arrest and execution, but it never came.  Apparently Uther had promised to spare him in exchange for giving up his practice of sorcery.  Much to Balinor’s outrage he had agreed, but he could not allow himself to be too upset at anything that would keep his uncle safe._

_And so Balinor was one of the few dragonlords left in Camelot the day Uther called them forward with dreams of peace at last.  And Balinor had believed him, because after all, if Gaius could be granted clemency, didn't that signal a reason to hope?_

_He paid for his foolishness that day.  The battle with the great dragon was fierce, and he watched his companions fall to claws and swords alike.  When Kilgharrah was finally taken, Balinor knew Uther would not let him live.  So while the knights attempted to control the beast, Balinor fled to the woods.  As he ran he could hear Kilgharrah’s voice echoing in his head._

**_“You will pay for this, Balinor.  Until the day Pendragon and dragonkind can stand beside each other in peace, your blood will be cursed to reflect the cost of your cowardice.”_ **

_Balinor ran all the way to Escetia, to the village of Ealdor.  Gaius knew a young woman who lived there, who had always been fascinated by the practice of magic.  Hunith was enraptured by Balinor's tales of sorcery and dragons, and in turn Balinor was enraptured by her.  Before he knew it she was with child._

_In the back of his mind Balinor remembered Kilgharrah’s threat.  But the joy of having a son or daughter of his own was too much to pay it much mind._

_Twice a fool him.  He was able to hold his new-born son only once.  The next morning when Hunith went to take him from his cot, their baby boy was gone, replaced by tiny dragon._

_Their little Merlin couldn't stay in Ealdor.  Even if by some miracle the villagers would accept him, the instant Uther heard of his existence the king would send knights out to kill him.  Without the two of them around Hunith would be safe.  But every second they stayed they put her in more and more danger.  So Balinor left his new bride a note, took their son in his arms, and never looked back._

_It was only two years later that he heard about the princess of Gawant.  The poor girl had been cursed just as his own son had been.  Her parents were desperate to protect their child from future harm.  Balinor hesitated to expose Merlin like that, but a life on the run was no life for a child, dragon or no.  He went forth to the Lord and Lady and proposed a plan.  He would take Elena away and guard her with a dragon and his own magic.  One day when she was old enough to meet her true love and break the curse, she would be returned to them safe and sound._

_He hadn't really known what he was getting himself into when he made that agreement.  Raising a little girl and a young dragon was no picnic.  The children were close as brother and sister, and no one bothered them out at their tower.  But he had no idea how to handle when Merlin started hiccoughing fire at random intervals, or when Elena started going through her womanly change._

_Balinor had always planned to stay with them until the end.  But foolish man that he was, he was afraid.  Afraid that when Elena was no longer a buffer between them that Merlin would start to resent him for his curse.  That he would want to roam free as a dragon should._

_And so once again Balinor walked away, sending a prayer back over his shoulder that his son would live his life more honourably than his father._

 

* * *

 

 

“ _No!_ ” Elena shrieked, sprinting towards the dragon.  Merlin’s knees gave out from underneath him and he collapsed to the ground.  Elena ignored the panicked cries from behind her and reached up to rip the bolt out.  “Merlin?  Merlin, talk to me.”

Merlin wheezed a rattling breath.  “I’m fine, Ellie.  You know me.  Little thing like this can’t hurt me.”  His eyes blinked slowly, belying his words.

Elena whirled around on her new companions, furious.  It wasn’t Mithian who wielded the crossbow, but Arthur.  Both of them were staring at her in shock.  “ _How could you_?”

“My lady, you need to back away.”  For the first time Arthur seemed less than sure of his command as he gave it.  “He could still hurt you.”

“Merlin has never hurt a single person in his life!”  Merlin lowered his head to rest it on the ground, and Elena collapsed next to him and wrapped her arms around him.  “He’s my friend.  He’s not dangerous, and he never has been!”

“ _Merlin_?”  Mithian gasped, hand flying to her mouth.  “But- but that’s not possible!”

“Obviously it is possible!  And you _shot_ _him_.”

“Ellie-”

Arthur had gone white as a ghost.  “I-I didn’t know.”

“Because you wouldn’t _listen_ to me!”  Elena bit back, petting Merlin’s hide and ignoring the tears that flowed down her cheeks.  “I tried to tell you he was just protecting me, but you didn’t care.  You just kept _insisting_ that I needed to be rescued from him!  And now you’ve killed him.”

“ _Ellie-_ ”

Arthur stepped forward and knelt beside Merlin’s head, looking the dragon in the eye.  Despite being several times larger, there was no mistaking them from his human eyes, blue and piercing.   A tear fell down Arthur’s cheek. “I’m so sorry, Merlin.  If I had kno- I’m sorry.”

Merlin heaved a sigh that fluttered Arthur’s red cape.  “If everyone would stop mourning already and listen to _me_ for a change, I could tell you that I‘m _not_ _dying_.  Dragons’ hearts are on the other side.”

“You’re not…”  Elena slapped him upside the head.  “Then why didn’t you just _say_ so?  You stupid, stupid beast!”  Then she leaned over and hugged him tightly.

Arthur barked a laugh, and that seemingly opened up a floodgate, nearly toppling him in his hysteric relief.  When he finally calmed down, he too leaned over to press a kiss on Merlin’s scaly forehead.  “And you thought I had a flare for the overdramatic.”

“Oh, you do,” Merlin said with a smirk.  “But I couldn’t let you have all the fun, could I?”

It took a surprisingly long time for Merlin to explain his side of the story, what he knew of his curse (which wasn’t much) and how he’d ended up in the tower (which he also was vague on).  Most of the time was taken up by Arthur bombarding him with questions, wanting to know everything there was to know about Merlin’s life.  As he went on, Elena quickly realized that he had been putting up a brave front for them before.  Merlin was clearly weakening, his voice becoming slower, head resting more heavily in her lap.

“Hush now, Merlin,” she said finally, stroking him gently with a trembling hand.  “You need to save your energy.  We have a long journey ahead of us.  Take a rest.  I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“And so will I,” Arthur promised.

Merlin smiled contentedly over at the prince, then let his eyes drift close.

Arthur stood and brushed his hands together, squaring his shoulders the way Elena was starting to recognize as meaning he had made a decision.  “Right.  So, your summer palace has a hall big enough to hold a dragon, right, Mith?”

Elena’s head snapped up.  “What?”

“Father will sigh about it, but he won’t put up a fight.  Honestly he’ll probably love having the edge over Uther.  No offence.”

“None taken.”

“I’m sorry, but again, _what?_ ”

“You and Merlin are going to go live with Mithian,” Arthur said as if it were completely logical.  “My father will never accept a dragon in Camelot, and you’ll be much happy with him and Mithian for company.”

Perhaps all the excitement of the past few days had made Elena a bit slow, but she still wasn’t quite understanding what was going on.  “But- but what about the curse?”

Mithian knelt down beside her, taking her hands gently and smiling.  “Elena, your curse has made you clumsy.  It’s made you unkempt and yes, a bit socially coarse.  But it hasn’t changed your heart.  It hasn’t made you any less kind, or any less lovely.  I would be honoured if you would come live with me in Nemeth.  Both of you.”

“But-” Well, actually Elena couldn’t really come up with an argument for that.  When she was younger she used to ask Balinor what her curse _was_ exactly, because she couldn’t tell.  At first he’d refused to tell her, then he admitted that he wasn’t quite sure, only that it affected her appearance to others.  But he and Merlin had always told her she was beautiful, and she had never much minded how she looked.  And now Mithian was confirming that she thought the same.

Careful not to dislodge Merlin from her lap, Elena threw her arms around the other woman.  “And I would be honoured to live there.”

“Um, ladies, I hate to interrupt, but…”

Elena felt a warmth in her lap and drew back.  Yes, today’s stress was definitely getting to her now.  That or Merlin was _glowing._

The glow grew until Elena had to scramble away from him or be blinded.  The others shielded their eyes as well, watching in awed horror as the light engulfed the dragon.  Then just as suddenly as it had begun the glow was gone.  And in its place was the –very human, very _naked_ \- body of Merlin.

“Merlin!”  Elena cried out in delight, rushing forward and sweeping him up in a tight hug.

“Um, Ellie?” Merlin squeaked.  Elena could feel his face warming against her cheek.  “Not.  Appropriate.”

“How’s this?”  And before Elena could process what was happening Merlin had been tugged from her arms and his face was sucked into Arthur’s.

Or Arthur was kissing him.

It had been a very long day.

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [ART: A Dragon's Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5798902) by [LFB72](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LFB72/pseuds/LFB72)




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